1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to body exercising apparatus and more particularly to a family of exercising machines for exercising selected muscles of the body in a safe and controlled manner so as to avoid injury to the user of the apparatus.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Progressive resistance exercises for therapeutic and rehabilitative purposes have become extremely popular in recent years. The value of regular exercise in preventing illness and in improving physical appearance has become well recognized and has stimulated a demand for new and improved progressive resistance exercising equipment. In response to this demand a wide variety of different types of equipment has been suggested for exercising each of the major muscle groups of the body.
Because of the differing requirements for exercising the various muscle groups of the body, many specialized, single purpose devices have been developed. For example, specialized equipment has been designed for exercising the legs. Other, and different, equipment has been devised for exercising the arms and shoulders. Still other devices have been suggested for exercising back and neck muscles. In short, a great number of differently configured and dissimilarly constructed machines are now being offered for sale. Because of the great differences between the various machines, their cost of manufacture is extremely high, maintenance is difficult and a very large amount of floor space is needed to set up and use the machines.
In the apparatus of the present invention the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art devices are uniquely overcome through standardization of the main frame, or major structural component of the apparatus. Through the use of a standardized main frame for carrying both the resistance means and the body engaging means which are required for exercising the various muscle groups of the body, the individual exercising machines are considerably more compact, are lighter weight and can be manufactured much more inexpensively. More particularly, each machine of the family of apparatus disclosed herein, includes a triangularly shaped, planar main frame of substantially identical design. The specific ancillary equipment required to accomplish the various muscle group exercises is operably associated with this standard main frame, or major structural component. In this way, manufacture and use of the machines is greatly facilitated.
Another important feature of certain embodiments of the present invention resides in the fact that, during their use, the resistance experienced by the trainee is varied in an optimum manner as the trainee moves the device through the exercise cycle. This is accomplished by changing the effective length of the lever arm through which the resistance is applied or through the use of cam arrangements located between the body engaging and resistance means of the apparatus.
While several variable resistance type exercise machines are known in the art, many embody complicated, multi-moving part mechanisms for interconnecting the body engaging elements of the device with the weights, springs or other resistance imparting means. Exemplary of such devices are those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,905,599 issued to Mazman and in 3,858,873 to Jones.
In the apparatus of the present invention variable resistance is obtained using simple, straight forward mechanical arrangements for coupling the body engaging elements of the devices with the resistance means thereof.
Other unique features of the present invention will become apparent from the description which follows.